Stevens wants four more words

Retired Justice John Paul Stevens wants four words added to the Constitution – a move he said would better allow the federal government to respond in times of crisis.

The addition of “and other public officials” to the Supremacy Clause of Article VI, Stevens recently said during a Chicago Bar Association talk, would give the federal government the authority to use state officials to carry out national policies, the Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog reports.

The federal government needs that power to better protect the public from threats and terrorism, Stevens said. “[I]t would be prudent to adopt the amendment that I have proposed before the next time-bomb explodes.”